By Chioma Gabriel, Deputy Editor
Professor Ango Abdullahi, former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University and former aide of  ex-President Obasanjo in this interview insists that there is a hidden agenda which made Jonathan not to accept that it was his kinsmen that caused the blasts in Abuja. He also blames Aba kidnapping and Boko Haram activities on poverty and bad leadership in Nigeria.

The level of insecurity in the country as elections approach is  alarming, what do you think should be done about it?

Insecurity in the country is not new. Or is it because bombs explded in Abuja that you are asking? We have had bomb blasts in various parts of the country in the past. Boko Haram  is not about religion.  It is something else.It is a socio-economic issue.

Terrorists’ organizations are not new. Kidnappings have always been there in the Niger-Delta. Why are people making the Abuja terrorists attack  a special case? Is it because it happened on the day of our 50th anniversary?  I don’t see anything special about it.

It is believed, there could be some political undertones to it as  elections are drawing nearer.
It has nothing to do with elections. What about the bombs that exploded in the past in other parts of Nigeria?

There were bomb blasts in the past and the President even acknowledged so and incriminated himself by saying they were never investigated as if somebody is expected to investigate them from outside, as if it is an observer that would investigate these explosions and find solutions to them.

Professor-Ango-Abdullahi

But this insecurity is assuming an alarming dimension for the bombers to dare to do so in Abuja at the event of the independence celebration.

It is not assuming any dimension. Let’s try and see why this one is different from the others. Is it that it happened at Abuja or that it happened during an independence celebration? It has exploded in other places or are you claiming you don’t know about the other explosions? Or are you not aware that bombs exploded in Lagos, Port-Harcourt, and even Warri. Didn’t the militants threaten to bomb Lagos and they did it?

Agreed, we have had these insecurities in the past. For instance, kidnapping started from the Niger-Delta and then lodged its capital now in Aba, Abia State.

All these things would come to an end when we have good governance in the country. Unless, the people of Nigeria feel  their country is their own by being the ones to choose their leaders, these problems would remain there.

There must be an end to corruption and stealing of public funds. The truth is that there are no developments going on in the country and a lot of people are suffering. That is the truth and that is responsible for all these things. There is so much suffering going on in the country and these  security problems are the side-effects.

When there is kidnapping and somebody is demanding  for ransom, then somebody is looking for money to preserve himself. So, what is happening in Aba is pure business. Kidnapping in Aba is a purely commercial venture. The truth is, you cannot remove poverty as being responsible for all these. If we have good government in this country and poverty is reduced, naturally, all these things would be reduced.

With what is going on, what do you think would happen when  the D-day finally comes. Don’t you foresee  Nigerians being too scared to go and vote due to insecurity.

No. Nigerians will vote. We will try to persuade them to go out and vote and if we have free and fair elections, we would vote in good people and restore security.

What’s your opinion on this controversy on whether it was  MEND that bombed Abuja or not as claimed? Could it be politics  or somebody somewhere trying to blackmail somebody.

Let us take them one-by-one. We all know there was bomb blast in Abuja on October 1 and some people claimed they were responsible for bombing Abuja and then, somebody came out and said the people who claimed they did it were not the ones.  So, what conclusions do you make from that?

It wasn’t somebody that made the claims. It was President Jonathan that expressed doubt over MEND claims, perhaps because since amnesty, there is development going on in Niger-Delta?

Why did he think it was not MEND which had earlier given warning they were going to do it and they did it.

Why did the President think they did not do it? What explanation could he offer for that?

With the amnesty programme  still on, perhaps he saw no reason why MEND would do it?

What rubbish? If you watch television, you would have known that two, three days to the bombing, a foreign reporter  went to the creeks and some of the camps that are under construction and had interviews with some of the terrorists in the Niger Delta and they told the foreign reporter that they are still at war with Nigeria.

So, the question of amnesty is neither here nor there. The fact that there was amnesty by the government of late Umaru Yar’Adua does not deter the fact that there are still terrorists in the Delta who have claimed responsibility for the bomb blast in Abuja.

But investigation is still on. The report has not been published….

Which report? Who is doing the investigation? Is Jonathan investigating? How can he be the one investigating when he is part of the controversy? Jonathan cannot conduct an objective investigation because he is already biased on this issue. The only thing that can make sense is an independent investigation done by an independent body because if the Jonathan administration conducts the investigation, there would be manipulation because the security agencies are under the control of the government.

So, until there is a judicial commission of inquiry, nothing believable would come out of it. Definitely, nobody is going to believe Jonathan.

There was an allegation that it could be those who don’t want him to contest 2011 presidential election that sponsored the blasts.

Absolute  rubbish. His kiths and kins told him that they planted these bombs but he refused to believe them. One of his brothers also told a foreign news media that he was contacted by a close aide of the president to denounce the claim that MEND planted the bombs and he said he would not do so, meaning that they want to incriminate somebody  else and not MEND which claimed responsibility for it. I think you are also very biased.

Henry Okah that you are talking about has been asked to mention the name of the Presidential aide that contacted him but he didn’t.

He will do so when there is an inquiry where he knows that he will be protected. I have no doubt that if his protection is guaranteed, he will  mention this aide. It’s common knowledge, you won’t hear it from me but it’s common knowledge that if there is a judicial commission of inquiry, I have no reason to fear that Henry Okah will mention the person who contacted him. But I have told you that you are a very biased journalist. Never mind, I will talk to you again.

Why do you  think I’m biased . It’s not journalists that will investigate the blasts?

Journalists know the truth and what is on  ground but are not saying it the way it is. They give excuses. Journalists should be part of this investigations and analyses but instead, some have a predetermined position.

One cannot draw conclusions without investigations and that is the fact.

There is bias and a predetermined position already and that is why Jonathan’s supervised investigation will not be acceptable. I don’t trust the people who are doing the investigation now. I can only trust an inquiry made up of people in the judiciary. That’s all.

From the views you expressed, these problems have nothing to do with 2011 elections ?

No.Kidnapping will stop when there is reduced poverty. Boko Haram is part of  the socio-economic problems facing Nigeria. There is nothing religious about Boko-Haram and it will continue until this country does something better for its people.